Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the System
Evoking the metropolitan unease and pulsating life of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's bracing drama zooms in on those who inhabit the outskirts of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; left behind by his parents, the innocent young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his rowdy group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler over double his age. Bathed in the wavering neon of a XXX cinema, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of prostitution and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy rather than as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his patrons, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with busy lanes and vibrant storefronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as rootless people grasp at one another for fleeting joy.
"The streets might be riddled with risk, yet they are where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complex Dynamic of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by jealousy and economic precarity. Dangers posed by shady figures in the underworld seem minor next to the fear of institutional observation and incarceration, represented by the constant sight of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is especially potent as a perceptive study of the forgotten souls who have been failed by the social system. The film functions as a poignant examination into making ends meet, chosen family, and the quest for self within a unforgiving urban landscape.
